How many of you were ready for a new beginning? What resolutions have you made?

Eat less and work out more?

Spend less and give more?

Spend more time with the Lord and less time on social media?

Spend more quality time with your kids and less time at work?

It isn’t like we really need a new year to make changes, but January 1st seems to be the jumping off point that many of us need to kick start our motivation and send us on our way to following through on those resolutions. A fresh start. A new opportunity to do that thing that you’ve never done before. A chance to put hard things behind you and look ahead to the exciting things God has in store for you. Two verses come to mind when I think of a new year:

1 Corinthians 2:9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—

Lamentations 3:22-24 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

Most of us walk into the new year with great expectation—that this year will be better than the last! That our resolutions will somehow make us happier and healthier. We especially like to think this if last year was a difficult one. We look ahead with great hope that physical ailments, financial struggles, death of loved ones, relationship troubles, work disappointments, and other difficult circumstances will leave the year 2015 untouched. And yet, most of us know that 2015 will probably bring troubles and worries along with it’s joys and triumphs. So what resolutions should we make?

Psalm 73:25-26 says, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Is one of your resolutions to truly desire the Lord and to seek Him fully this year? If so, you can anticipate a GREAT year! Not because it will be perfect or because you will be perfect. Not because it will be easy or because we will be spared hard times. We can look forward to 2015 with joy and excitement because God is the strength of our heart and our portion forever—not just this year, but for all of the years to come.

He will be with us through whatever ups and downs this year will bring. Praise the Lord that He follows through on every one of his promises, even when the “resolve” in our resolutions waiver.

by Jennie SmithSecondary PrincipalI can’t watch the news anymore. We live in such a fallen, sinful world, and the news on the news is never good. Murders. Robberies. And don’t even get me started on Ebola! There is so much to be scared of, and I can be the biggest scared-y cat of them all. Just the other night, there was a police helicopter going around and around in the middle of the night, and someone was on the megaphone saying unintelligible things. I laid there for hours feeling fear (and listening to the police scanner app I have on my phone) while the rest of my family slept in peace.

Sometimes, I think I must be the only one who experiences this crazy level of fear. Thankfully, I’ve realized that even great heroes of the faith have experienced fear. Adam and Eve hid from God out of fear after they had sinned. Abraham lied about Sarah being his wife on two occasions, motivated by fear. Moses didn’t want to fulfill his calling and tried to talk God out of it…because he was scared. Saul disobeyed God because he feared the people of the land, and Peter had such great fear that he denied Jesus three times.

So, what do we do to combat fear? Call it what it is….Disobedience to the Almighty GodThe Bible has a lot to say on the issue of fear. I saw on Facebook this popular meme…

I‘ve been trying to do some research about the accuracy of this, and most are concluding that there aren’t exactly 365 verses, although it is a nice thought. The most important thing is that God said “Do not fear…” many times, even though ONE time ought to be enough for us! Here is my favorite (emphasis added):Isaiah 41:10 “FEAR NOT, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”If God has told us not to fear, and yet we spend time in fear of the various crisis that can befall us, we are in direct disobedience to Him. And He gives us a reason not to fear….He is our God; He will help us.

Trust, Trust, TrustOur Father is so worthy of our trust. Has he been faithful to you through past trials? Has he sustained you in your times of struggle? Has he provided for you in times of want? Has he comforted you in times of grief? He will never change and will speak to our pain when it arrives again. When we understand that God is in complete control, and has all resources at his command to help us, we can exist at a new level of peace.

Elyse Fitzpatrick, author of the book Overcoming Fear, Worry, and Anxiety (2001), says “God’s sovereignty is the only safe harbor when we’re assailed by the winds of fear, doubt, and worry” (pg. 128). At the time when the fear of the Ebola crisis had me on edge, I googled “sermons on God’s sovereignty” and found an excellent sermon by John Piper. I was so encouraged to be reminded that God is not surprised by any problem that we are faced with and there is not one thing that God can’t handle!Realize that our fear does nothing to help the situation.Did my laying there in bed, awake, listening to the dispatchers talk to the police through the night make me any less in danger? Does imagining my boys coming down with Ebola make my children at any less risk of getting the disease? Jesus said “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (Matthew 6:27). Elyse Fitzpatrick (2001) says that worry “can’t change anything. It won’t make you live one more day than God has ordained. It won’t influence whatever you may face in the future. Worry is powerless” (pg. 111). The threats of bad things happening will always exist, but stewing about them does not decrease the chances of them happening to us, it only makes us feel miserable and wastes valuable time.Our only hope lies in the fact that our God is sovereign – He knows all the things that lay before us and He is in complete control of them. Bad things are going to happen. Police helicopters will fly over head. People we love are going to suffer. We may be asked to walk a difficult and terrible road. But He is good, and loving, and will meet us in these trials and give us exactly what we need to endure them. Let us be like the Psalmist who said “I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4).

It never ceases to amaze me how God provides in times of greatest need. As I look back on my life, I can clearly see the evidences of God’s hand guiding, directing, and intervening in situations both big and small. And yet, I admit there are times where I’ve cried out to God knowing that He couldhelp me, but didn’t want to presume that help would be part of His good and perfect will for my life. Maybe you have cried out to God fervently, all the while fearing that your need was too insignificant or your worthiness too non-existent for God to intervene on your behalf. Yet, despite your doubt, how many could speak to the times that his goodness and faithfulness were revealed just the same? How grateful I am that I can see example upon example of this in my life.

I hope we can all recognize these times of provision in our lives. It’s the time when you only had x amount of dollars in your account and somehow it multiplied and stretched way farther than it should have. It’s the unexpected check that shows up in the mail to cover just the amount you needed for something. It’s a tumor, disease, or condition that was diagnosed one minute and then gone the next. Or maybe it’s that blessing in disguise—a sprained finger that reveals a bigger issue that would have never been discovered otherwise. Do you have stories?

Last year, my husband and I were going through a time that was really financially tight. We didn’t know how we were even going to put gas in the car to get to work. All we could do was pray that God would intervene and that He would be glorified through our circumstances somehow. Then it happened. That Saturday afternoon, I opened the garage when I heard an awful noise—the kind you know can only be BAD. This was not the answer to prayer I was hoping for. The garage door proceeded to fall off the tracks and wedge itself diagonally into the frame of the garage. It wouldn’t budge. Not only that, but my car was trapped inside. This was a “now what” moment. My instinct was to panic. To throw my hands in the air and say, “I give up.” And yet, God was saying, “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.” Twenty minutes later, our doorbell rang. It was a garage door repair man! He just happened to be driving by, saw our mangled garage door, and wanted to know if we wanted him to fix it . . . for free. What an amazing example of God’s provision. I have often looked back on that day and smiled. God had it all under control.

In chapel last week, Mr. B. spoke about George Mueller and God’s provision demonstrated time and time again in his orphanages—times when they didn’t know where the next meal would come from or how the next need was going to be met. And yet, they never asked anyone for anything and never wanted for anything. Sometimes His provision is nothing short of miraculous, and sometimes it is the sound of God’s soft voice reminding us, “Don’t worry. I’ve got this.”

This is not to say that God’s faithfulness and goodness is diminished in any way when it seems like He has not answered the prayer or fulfilled the need. At a conference I attended not long ago, one of the speakers made the following statement, “Don’t confuse the results of something bad with how good God actually is. His goodness doesn’t change.” Unfortunately, what we want and what we need is not always known to us. Luckily though, God knows because He cares for us. I love the words in these promises from Matthew:

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26)“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29–31).

When I read those verses, I am reminded of one of my favorite childhood hymns (and one that continues to encourage me in times of trial).

His Eye is On the Sparrow

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home,When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He:His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy,I sing because I’m free,For His eye is on the sparrow,And I know He watches me.

“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear,And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me

When you think that nothing else could go wrong and then it does, remember in those times that God is right there to prove His faithfulness and maybe to teach you something that you could not have learned any other way.

I pray that someday God allows me to encourage others with my stories of His provision. Do you have stories to share? If you have one, feel free to share it here so we can be reminded that God is at work every day in our lives.